•Plan costumes that are bright and reflective. Make sure that shoes fit well and that costumes are short enough to prevent tripping, entanglement or contact with flame.•Consider adding reflective tape or striping to costumes and trick-or-treat bags for greater visibility.•Because masks can limit or block eyesight, consider non-toxic makeup and decorative hats as safer alternatives. Hats should fit properly to prevent them from sliding over eyes.•When shopping for costumes, wigs and accessories look for and purchase those with a label clearly indicating they are flame resistant.•Obtain flashlights with fresh batteries for all children and their escorts.•Some costumes may be scary to a young child, before the big day, show little ones rubber masks in daylight and let them touch and see that it is only a mask.•Remind children that if a costume is scary, it is really just like theirs, a costume. Have children check for regular shoes on the feet of what may be a scary costume walking down the street.•Teach children how to call 9-1-1 (or their local emergency number) if they have an emergency or become lost.

ON THE TRICK-OR-TREAT TRAIL:•Host or attend a Halloween Party. •A parent or responsible adult should accompany children on their Trick-or-Treat route. •Only go to homes with a porch light on and never enter a home or car for a treat.•Because pedestrian injuries are the most common injuries to children on Halloween, remind Trick-or-Treaters.•Remain on well-lit streets and always use the sidewalk. •If no sidewalk is available, walk at the far edge of the roadway facing traffic. •Never cut across yards or use alleys. •Only cross the street as a group in established crosswalks. Never cross between parked cars or out driveways.•Don’t assume the right of way. Motorists may have trouble seeing Trick-or-Treaters. Just because one car stops, doesn't mean others will! •If your older children are going alone, plan and review the route that is acceptable to you. Agree on a specific time when they should return home.•Stay in a group and communicate where they will be going.•Carry a cellphone for quick communication.•Law enforcement authorities should be notified immediately of any suspicious or unlawful activity.

HEALTHY HALLOWEEN:•A good meal prior to parties and trick-or-treating will discourage youngsters from filling up on Halloween treats. •Consider purchasing non-food treats for those who visit your home, such as coloring books or pens and pencils.•Wait until children are home to sort and check treats. Though tampering is rare, a responsible adult should closely examine all treats and throw away any spoiled, unwrapped or suspicious items. •Try to ration treats for the days following Halloween.

If you’ve ever perused the New Book section of the library, you may have noticed an increasing number of graphic novels. In fact, there are currently over thirty of them. Even if you may not be an avid comic book reader, it’s a worthwhile part of the collection that shouldn’t be overlooked.

Among the titles on the shelf, you’ll find graphic novels with Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Superman. There are also some based on television shows, such as Castle, Once Upon a Time, and True Blood. I happened to like True Blood: Where Were You?, which recalls a time before the series when vampires first went public with their identities, telling the story from each characters point of view. Once Upon a Time: Shadow of the Queen looks at the complex relationship between the Queen and the Huntsman.

Other graphic novel titles are adaptations of well-known books. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower is given its own series. James Patterson’s Zoo, a tale of the animal kingdom fighting back against man, has also been adapted. Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was particularly well-adapted, but it‘s definitely not for kids.

Still others are for those looking for something beyond the traditional superhero titles. Saga, a graphic novel about two warring alien factions, is particularly good. Jerusalem: A Family Portrait tells the story of three generations of one family living in the midst of Israel’s struggles with Palestine. Husbands tells of two gay men who wake up one morning to find themselves married after a crazy Vegas weekend.

There are many titles worth looking into, with new ones coming monthly. There’s a little something for everyone, and you’ll find them in our New Book section.

The last few months have seen several high profile adaptations of American author, L. Frank Baum's major work, THE WIZARD OF OZ. Indeed, due to WICKED, the book and Broadway musical, Baum's story has seldom been out of the mass popular culture consciousness for the past few years.

The summer brought OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL, a prequel which imagines how the wizard got to Oz in the first place. Of course that would also involve the back stories of, in this case, three witches, and how they got that way.

This wizard being a bit of a bounder, the story is also spiced up with a bit of romantic intrigue (of which there is none in the Baum original). But ultimately this version comes off as an epic fantasia on the original book, and features some truly spectacular 3-D effects. (This cyclone and the droll credit sequence with its jaunty Danny Elfman score are both knockouts).

GREAT AND POWERFUL was released by Disney Productions which at one time had planned an OZ musical, THE RAINBOW ROAD TO OZ. Originally planned for the Mouseketeers, who actually did a promo for the film on one of Disney's 1950s TV shows, it was never made. Disney finally did do "Return to Oz", loosely based on the second Oz book, in 1985.

Coincidentally (or maybe not) the original MGM 1939 version was released in a 3-D transformation in September. Personally, I've always thought OZ was a 3-D film just waiting to happen, and the detailed set design and camera setups adapt themselves perfectly to the dimensional process. The first circular truck around Munchkinland after Dorothy steps out of black-and-white into dazzling 3-D Technicolor is breathtaking, as is the incredibly choreographed Munchkin mini-opera which follows.

Even the BxW prologue, which looks like something out of John Ford's GRAPES OF WRATH, is enhanced by 3-D, particularly the shots of the barren road leading away from Dorothy's farm which now actually recedes into the far gray distance.

An odd postscript to this year's OZ-mania in a new stage musical which played the Pantages in LA in September. This version uses the MGM score but includes several new songs by, of all people, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (of EVITA/CATS fame). None of the new tunes were especially memorable - sample title: Red Shoe Blues, a song for the Wicked Witch! - and the overall production, co-produced by Sir Andrew himself, and, aside from a dynamic video cyclone, looked surprisingly tacky.

It's now almost difficult to recall that the source material for all this was a charmingly artless story that has been sited as the first (1900) genuinely American fairy tale. Though not without its naive charm, today the book itself seems like a first draft for the MGM film. Several writers labored for months on the beautifully cohesive screenplay, and many of the film's lines pervasively entered the language years ago.The literary Kansas opening takes up only a few pages and, there are no ruby slippers (they're silver) and no suggestion that Dorothy's journey was a dream. MGM did loosely pick up on the original W. W. Denslow illustrations, however, particularly in regard to Dorothy's hairstyle and the basic look of the Scarecrow and the Tin Man.

Foster's collection of various editions includes "Journeys Through OZ," with both "Wizard" with Denslow's illustrations, and Baum's second book, "The Marvelous Land of Oz," with John R. Neill's more sophisticated images (and a protagonist - spoiler alert - who turns out to be transexual).

Fans of the book might also search out the comprehensive "Annotated Wizard of Oz," C. N. Potter, NY, 1971. And any film buff would find"The Making of The Wizard of Oz," Knopf, 1977, by film historian Aljean Harmetz, fascinating.

Catch the Aloha spirit with one of E.P. Foster Library's gorgeous Takamine concert size ukuleles. We only have five ukuleles for check-out and they are going fast!

There will also be a free beginner’s ukulele class: Brad from Anacapa Ukulele will guide you through the tranquil ways of the ukulele. The first class is in the Topping Room Saturday, November 9th at 1pm.

While we are on the subject of ukuleles, our databases[try searching "ukulele songbook"] and our catalog [try a Subject Keyword search for "ukulele"] have some delightful ukulele songbooks. Take some time to explore these options - you will be thoroughly entertained.

Catch the Aloha spirit with one of or gorgeous Takamine concert size ukuleles. Yes, we are a library and yes, we do check-out ukuleles, we do things a bit differently around here! One word of warning, we have five ukuleles for check-out and they are going fast!!

There will also be a free beginner’s ukulele class, so check one of our ukuleles out or bring your own. Brad from Anacapa Ukulele will guide us through the tranquil ways of the ukulele. The first class is in the Topping room Saturday, November 9th at 1 P.M.

While we are on the subject of ukuleles, our databases have some classic ukulele songbooks, delightful old books that are still relevant today. Our brick and mortar library has some great ukulele books too! Take some time to explore these options, you will be thoroughly entertained.

Learn Doug Taylor's five-step method for navigating the internet, including the three functions of navigation (scrolling, linking, back & forth) and the two ways to access information (URLs and search engines).